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{{Short description|International group of Tony-Cliff-inspired Trotskyist organisations}} {{Short description|International group of Trotskyist organisations}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=September 2010}} {{More citations needed|date=September 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2013}} {{Tone|date=December 2022}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
] in red is the symbol of the International Socialist Tendency.|130px]] ] in red is the symbol of the International Socialist Tendency.|130px]]
{{Trotskyism}} {{Trotskyism}}


The '''International Socialist Tendency''' ('''IST''') is an ] grouping of unorthodox ] organisations<ref name=ist>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/entries/ist.htm|title=International Socialist Tendency|publisher=Marxists Internet Archive|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> espousing the ideas of ] (1917–2000), founder of the ] (SWP) in ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.de/intsoctend/foot/tonycliff.htm|title=Tony Cliff|publisher=REDS – Die Roten|date=11 April 2000|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> (not to be confused with the unrelated ] in the ]). It has sections across 27 countries;<ref name=ist/> however, its strongest presence is in ], especially in Britain. The '''International Socialist Tendency''' ('''IST''') is an ] grouping of unorthodox ] organisations<ref name=ist>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/entries/ist.htm|title=International Socialist Tendency|publisher=Marxists Internet Archive|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> espousing the ideas of ] (1917–2000), founder of the ] (SWP) in ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.de/intsoctend/foot/tonycliff.htm|title=Tony Cliff|publisher=REDS – Die Roten|date=11 April 2000|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> (not to be confused with the unrelated ] in the ]). IST supporters are sometimes called "'''Cliffites'''". It has sections across 27 countries;<ref name=ist/> however, its strongest presence is in ], especially in Britain.


The politics of the IST are similar to the politics of many ]. Where it differs with many is on the question of the ], the IST adopting the position that it was a "]" economy, rather than a "]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/cliff/works/1955/statecap/intro.htm|title=State Capitalism in Russia|publisher=Marxists Internet Archive|year=1947|access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref> along with their theories of the "]"<ref>{{cite web|last=Kidron|first=Michael|year=1967|title=A Permanent Arms Economy|url=http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/pamsetc/perm/perm.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224052054/http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/pamsetc/perm/perm.htm|archive-date=2011-02-24|access-date=25 September 2010|website=International Socialism|publisher=Marxism Page}}</ref> and "]".<ref>{{cite web|last=Cliff|first=Tony|year=1963|title=Deflected Permanent Revolution|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/cliff/works/1963/xx/permrev.htm|access-date=25 September 2010|website=Marxists Internet Archive}}</ref> The IST sees the often referred to "]" countries, such as the former ] states, ], ], ] and ] as an inverse of classical ], arguing they are "]" in nature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxisme.dk/arkiv/molyneux/realmarx/index.htm|title=What is the real Marxist tradition?|publisher=Marxisme Online|year=1983|access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref> The politics of the IST are similar to the politics of many ]. Where it differs with many is on the question of the ], the IST adopting the position that it was a "]" economy, rather than a "]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/cliff/works/1955/statecap/intro.htm|title=State Capitalism in Russia|publisher=Marxists Internet Archive|year=1947|access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref> along with their theories of the "]"<ref>{{cite web|last=Kidron|first=Michael|year=1967|title=A Permanent Arms Economy|url=http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/pamsetc/perm/perm.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224052054/http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/pamsetc/perm/perm.htm|archive-date=2011-02-24|access-date=25 September 2010|website=International Socialism|publisher=Marxism Page}}</ref> and "]".<ref>{{cite web|last=Cliff|first=Tony|year=1963|title=Deflected Permanent Revolution|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/cliff/works/1963/xx/permrev.htm|access-date=25 September 2010|website=Marxists Internet Archive}}</ref> The IST sees the often referred to "]" countries, such as the former ] states, ], ], ] and ] as an inverse of classical ], arguing they are "]" in nature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxisme.dk/arkiv/molyneux/realmarx/index.htm|title=What is the real Marxist tradition?|publisher=Marxisme Online|year=1983|access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref>


Unlike many international tendencies the IST has no formal organisational structures and has only ever made one publicly known decision, which was to expel the US ] (ISO) from its ranks.<ref name=report>{{cite web Unlike many international tendencies, the IST has no formal organisational structures and has only ever made one publicly known decision, which was to expel the US ] (ISO) from its ranks.<ref name=report>{{cite web
| url=http://www.angelfire.com/journal/iso/istmeeting.htm | url=https://www.angelfire.com/journal/iso/istmeeting.htm
| title=Report on International Socialist Tendency meeting 5 July 2001 | title=Report on International Socialist Tendency meeting 5 July 2001
| publisher=SWP Central Committee | publisher=SWP Central Committee
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}}</ref> However, the antecedents of the IST go back to the 1950s when the founders of the British ] (SRG), supporters of Cliff, were expelled from ] and thus from the ].<ref>{{cite web }}</ref> However, the antecedents of the IST go back to the 1950s when the founders of the British ] (SRG), supporters of Cliff, were expelled from ] and thus from the ].<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.bolshevik.org/Pamphlets/CWI/CWI_history.html | url=http://www.bolshevik.org/Pamphlets/CWI/CWI_history.html
| title=A Brief Sketch of the Militant Tendency’s History | title=A Brief Sketch of the Militant Tendency's History
| publisher=Committee for a Workers' International | publisher=Committee for a Workers' International
| date=18 May 2008 | date=18 May 2008
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===1950s=== ===1950s===
Through the 1950s the SRG had a loose relationship with the US ] (ISL) led by ] until it dissolved in 1958. It then retained links with comrades coming out of that group and with other individuals in the international Trotskyist movement. But there was no significant growth in support for its ideas until the late 1960s. Some of the ideas of the IST, such as the permanent arms economy were originally developed from writings published by the ISL. The theory of the permanent arms economy was developed by ] in a series published throughout 1951 in the ISL journal '']'' and was later refined by Cliff in the late 1950s and over the years by key ] (IS) theoreticians such as ], ] and ] in later years. Through the 1950s the SRG had a loose relationship with the US ] (ISL) led by ] until it dissolved in 1958. It then retained links with members coming out of that group and with other individuals in the international Trotskyist movement. But there was no significant growth in support for its ideas until the late 1960s. Some of the ideas of the IST, such as the permanent arms economy were originally developed from writings published by the ISL. The theory of the permanent arms economy was developed by ] in a series published throughout 1951 in the ISL journal '']'' and was later refined by Cliff in the late 1950s and over the years by key ] (IS) theoreticians such as ], ] and ] in later years.


===1960s–70s=== ===1960s–70s===
In the 1960s the International Socialists (as the group was now called) established links with ] in a number of countries which led to the formation of IS groups in those countries. Perhaps the first such group was the Irish IS group founded in 1971, followed by groups in ],<ref>{{cite web In the 1960s the International Socialists (as the group was now called) established links with ] in a number of countries which led to the formation of IS groups in those countries. Perhaps the first such group was the Irish IS group founded in 1971, followed by groups in ],<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://redsites.alphalink.com.au/marching.rtf |url=http://redsites.alphalink.com.au/marching.rtf
|title=Marching down Marx Street: The International Socialists in Australia, 1972-92. |title=Marching down Marx Street: The International Socialists in Australia, 1972-92.
|publisher=Tom O'Lincoln's Red Sites |publisher=Tom O'Lincoln's Red Sites
|date=1992 |date=1992
|access-date=22 September 2010 |access-date=22 September 2010
|df=dmy-all
}}{{dead link|date=June 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ] and ]. Meanwhile, links were built with the ] (later International Socialists) in the USA. These links led to a split in the American IS in 1978 and the formation of the ISO; a group which was more closely linked to the British IS. }}{{dead link|date=June 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ] and ]. Meanwhile, links were built with the ] (later International Socialists) in the USA. These links led to a split in the American IS in 1978 and the formation of the ISO; a group which was more closely linked to the British IS.


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However, the 1990s also saw a number of splits and expulsions for the IST. While there was a great deal of geographical expansion there were also losses and fragmentation. There were a number of splits which were unrelated to each other but seemed to have a common cause. Those causes were a concern among some members of the groups concerned that the internal regime of their own group had become ] and lacked in democratic accountability. Sometimes this was associated with the involvement in the internal affairs of the group by representatives of the SWP, as well as the political orientation of the group. Among the groups affected by such splits were those based in Germany, South Africa, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Australia,<ref>{{cite web|date=2 September 2002|title=Socialist Alternative and the ISO: perspectives for socialists|url=http://www.sa.org.au/in-depth/169-documents/1677-socialist-alternative-and-the-iso-perspectives-for-socialists|access-date=22 September 2010|publisher=Socialist Alternative}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada and France. In Belgium, the majority of the group joined the Belgian affiliate of the ]. However, the 1990s also saw a number of splits and expulsions for the IST. While there was a great deal of geographical expansion there were also losses and fragmentation. There were a number of splits which were unrelated to each other but seemed to have a common cause. Those causes were a concern among some members of the groups concerned that the internal regime of their own group had become ] and lacked in democratic accountability. Sometimes this was associated with the involvement in the internal affairs of the group by representatives of the SWP, as well as the political orientation of the group. Among the groups affected by such splits were those based in Germany, South Africa, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Australia,<ref>{{cite web|date=2 September 2002|title=Socialist Alternative and the ISO: perspectives for socialists|url=http://www.sa.org.au/in-depth/169-documents/1677-socialist-alternative-and-the-iso-perspectives-for-socialists|access-date=22 September 2010|publisher=Socialist Alternative}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada and France. In Belgium, the majority of the group joined the Belgian affiliate of the ].


The Australian split, Socialist Alternative, was formed following the bureaucratic expulsion of 5 Melbourne members from the ISO.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rintoul|first=Ian|date=2004|title=Whither the Propaganda Perspective|url=https://www.solidarity.net.au/theory/propaganda-perspective/|website=Solidarity}}</ref> They subsequently consolidated their politics as a "propaganda group", arguing against the IST focus on united fronts, that "all 'united fronts' between small socialist groups and mass reformist organisations would achieve is to give a left cover to the reformists".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Socialist Alternative and the ISO — Perspectives for Socialists|url=http://saoniso.orgfree.com/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=saoniso.orgfree.com}}</ref> The Australian split, Socialist Alternative, was formed following the bureaucratic expulsion of 5 Melbourne members from the ISO.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rintoul|first=Ian|date=2004|title=Whither the Propaganda Perspective|url=https://www.solidarity.net.au/theory/propaganda-perspective/|website=Solidarity}}</ref> They subsequently consolidated their politics as a "propaganda group", arguing against the IST focus on united fronts, that "all 'united fronts' between small socialist groups and mass reformist organisations would achieve is to give a left cover to the reformists".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Socialist Alternative and the ISO – Perspectives for Socialists|url=http://saoniso.orgfree.com/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=saoniso.orgfree.com}}</ref>


===2000s=== ===2000s===
The 2000s saw contradictory developments for the IST. New groups were formed in a number of countries for the first time as in ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. However the largest groups in the IST outside Britain have both split and sections of them have left the IST. Thus in the US the ISO's leadership entered into a dispute with the leadership of the SWP as to the significance of the ] and ] movements following the ] in ]. This led to the ISO being expelled from the IST<ref name=report/> and a small faction (sympathetic to the SWP) leaving it to form Left Turn (LT). Ironically, LT also left the IST in 2003 leaving the tendency with no affiliate in the US. Very small numbers of people sympathetic to the SWP operate in the US ] and the US ], but with no official link to the IST. Meanwhile, in Greece the OSE (which had renamed itself the ]) split on similar lines with a substantial minority forming the ]. New Zealand's official group (]) triggered an international debate within the IST,<ref>{{cite web The 2000s saw contradictory developments for the IST. New groups were formed in a number of countries for the first time as in ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. However the largest groups in the IST outside Britain have both split and sections of them have left the IST. Thus in the US the ISO's leadership entered into a dispute with the leadership of the SWP as to the significance of the ] and ] movements following the ] in ]. This led to the ISO being expelled from the IST<ref name=report/> and a small faction (sympathetic to the SWP) leaving it to form Left Turn (LT). Ironically, LT also left the IST in 2003 leaving the tendency with no affiliate in the US. Very small numbers of people sympathetic to the SWP operate in the US ] and the US ], but with no official link to the IST. Meanwhile, in Greece the OSE (which had renamed itself the ]) split on similar lines with a substantial minority forming the ]. New Zealand's official group (]) triggered an international debate within the IST,<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/alex-callinicos-debates-new-zealand-swp-over-venezuela/ | url=http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/alex-callinicos-debates-new-zealand-swp-over-venezuela/
| title=Alex Callinicos debates New Zealand SWP over Venezuela | title=Alex Callinicos debates New Zealand SWP over Venezuela
Line 59: Line 61:
| date=26 June 2007 | date=26 June 2007
| access-date=31 May 2011 | access-date=31 May 2011
}}</ref> when on May 1, 2007, it presented a ] statement to the IST, calling on it to "engage with the mass revolutionary process in ]".<ref>{{cite web }}</ref> when on 1 May 2007, it presented a ] statement to the IST, calling on it to "engage with the mass revolutionary process in ]".<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://unityaotearoa.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-day-statement-by-central-committee.html | url=http://unityaotearoa.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-day-statement-by-central-committee.html
| title=May Day statement by central committee of Socialist Worker-New Zealand | title=May Day statement by central committee of Socialist Worker-New Zealand
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|url-status=dead |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504223334/http://unityaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/resolution-of-2012-conference-of.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504223334/http://unityaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/resolution-of-2012-conference-of.html
|archive-date=4 May 2013 |archive-date=4 May 2013
|df=dmy-all
}}</ref> }}</ref>


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}}</ref> }}</ref>


Since 2013, the IST has suffered a serious crisis after the allegations of rape ] within the British SWP became more widely known. In January 2013, the IST's section in Serbia, ], left the IST over the scandal.<ref>'', Marks21, 2013</ref> In March 2013, ] founding member ], former ''Socialist Worker'' editor Paul Kellogg, theorist John Riddell and other leading members released a public statement announcing their resignation from the group after a motion to write a public letter of concern to the British SWP over its handling of the scandal was voted down at their annual convention.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013|title=Statement of Resignation – IS Canada|url=http://internationalsocialistnetwork.org/index.php/ideas-and-arguments/organisation/swp-crisis/international/83-statement-of-resignation-is-canada/|website=IS Network|language=en-US}}</ref> However, the ] in Ireland passed a resolution condemning the British SWP's Central Committee.<ref>{{cite web Since 2013, the IST has suffered a serious crisis after the allegations of rape ] within the British SWP became more widely known. In January 2013, the IST's section in Serbia, ], left the IST over the scandal.<ref>'', Marks21, 2013</ref> In March 2013, ] founding member ], former ''Socialist Worker'' editor Paul Kellogg, theorist John Riddell and other leading members released a public statement announcing their resignation from the group after a motion to write a public letter of concern to the British SWP over its handling of the scandal was voted down at their annual convention.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013|title=Statement of Resignation – IS Canada|url=http://internationalsocialistnetwork.org/index.php/ideas-and-arguments/organisation/swp-crisis/international/83-statement-of-resignation-is-canada/|website=IS Network|language=en-US|access-date=20 September 2020|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926044019/http://internationalsocialistnetwork.org/index.php/ideas-and-arguments/organisation/swp-crisis/international/83-statement-of-resignation-is-canada/|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the ] in Ireland passed a resolution condemning the British SWP's Central Committee.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/951/swp-crisis-silence-of-the-lambs |url = http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/951/swp-crisis-silence-of-the-lambs
|title = SWP crisis: Silence of the lambs |title = SWP crisis: Silence of the lambs
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|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131206155210/http://cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/951/swp-crisis-silence-of-the-lambs |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131206155210/http://cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/951/swp-crisis-silence-of-the-lambs
|archive-date = 6 December 2013 |archive-date = 6 December 2013
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> As of June 2014, around 700 members of the British SWP have resigned from the group.<ref>{{cite web }}</ref> As of June 2014, around 700 members of the British SWP have resigned from the group.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=994&issue=143 | url=http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=994&issue=143
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| date=26 June 2014 | date=26 June 2014
| access-date=6 July 2014 | access-date=6 July 2014
}}</ref> Three separate splinter groups from the British SWP were formed after the beginning of the scandal, the International Socialist Network (ISN), Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century (])<ref>{{cite web }}</ref> Three separate splinter groups from the British SWP were formed after the beginning of the scandal, the International Socialist Network (ISN), Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century (RS21)<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://socialistresistance.org/5788/welcome-to-rs21 | url=http://socialistresistance.org/5788/welcome-to-rs21
| title=Welcome to RS21 | title=Welcome to RS21
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==Affiliate organisations== ==Affiliate organisations==
The listing below is neither fully comprehensive, as there are additional groups not mentioned in official lists found on IST websites, nor completely accurate. IST sources often containing references to ] in ] and ], are in fact websites only. Many IST sources also refer to the ] of ] as being in the IST but it is actually close to the ISO. Some other small groups existing in various countries cannot be mentioned for legitimate security reasons. In addition there are IST type groups in a number of countries unconnected to the IST as in Germany, Greece, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The listing below is neither fully comprehensive, as there are additional groups not mentioned in official lists found on IST websites, nor completely accurate. IST sources often containing references to ] in ] and ], are in fact websites only. Many IST sources also refer to the ] of ] as being in the IST but it is actually close to the ISO. Some other small groups existing in various countries cannot be mentioned for legitimate security reasons. In addition there are IST type groups in a number of countries unconnected to the IST as in Germany, Greece, the US, Australia and New Zealand.


{| class="wikitable sortable" {| class="wikitable sortable"
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|] |]
|Internationale Socialister |Internationale Socialister
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|France}}
⚫ |]
⚫ |Que Faire
|- |-
|{{Flag|Ghana}} |{{Flag|Ghana}}
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|] |]
| |
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Italy}}
⚫ |Communism from below
⚫ |Comunismo dal basso
|- |-
|{{Flag|Netherlands}} |{{Flag|Netherlands}}
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|{{Flag|Nigeria}} |{{Flag|Nigeria}}
|] |]
⚫ |
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Norway}}
⚫ |]
⚫ |Internasjonale Sosialister
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Pakistan}}
⚫ |]
| |
|- |-
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|] |]
|Pracownicza Demokracja |Pracownicza Demokracja
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Russia}}
|]
|Социалистическая тенденция
|- |-
|{{Flag|South Africa}} |{{Flag|South Africa}}
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|- |-
|{{Flag|Spain}} |{{Flag|Spain}}
|
|Marx21 |Marx21
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Syria}}
|]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2022-03-31/ukraine-and-anti-imperialism-exchange|title=Ukraine and anti-imperialism: an exchange|work=]|author=Gilbert Achcar and Alex Callinicos|date=31 March 2022}}</ref>
| |
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Sweden}}
⚫ |]
⚫ |Internationella Socialister
|- |-
|{{Flag|Thailand}} |{{Flag|Thailand}}
|]
|Workers Democracy Group
|องค์กรสังคมนิยมแรงงาน<ref>{{Cite web |title=สังคมนิยมแรงงาน |url=https://www.facebook.com/SocialistTH/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=www.facebook.com}}</ref>
|Turn Left organization
|- |-
|{{Flag|Turkey}} |{{Flag|Turkey}}
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|- |-
|{{Flag|United Kingdom}} |{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|] |] (RS21)
| |
|- |-
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|- |-
|{{Flag|France}} |{{Flag|France}}
|] |] (dissolved)
|Socialisme International |Socialisme International
|- |-
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|] (Network within ]) |] (Network within ])
|Marx21 (Network within Die Linke) |Marx21 (Network within Die Linke)
⚫ |-
|{{Flag|Germany}}
|Revolutionäre Linke (expelled from Marx21 September 2023)
⚫ |
⚫ |-
|{{Flag|Germany}}
| Initiative Sozialismus von Unten (split from Marx21 October 2023)
|
|- |-
|{{Flag|Greece}} |{{Flag|Greece}}
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|- |-
|{{Flag|Scotland}} |{{Flag|Scotland}}
|] |] (dissolved in 2015)
| |
|- |-
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|- |-
|{{Flag|Turkey}} |{{Flag|Turkey}}
|] (dissolved in 2010) |] (dissolved in 2010)
|Antikapitalist |Antikapitalist
|- |-
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|- |-
|{{Flag|Canada}} |{{Flag|Canada}}
|New Socialist Group |New Socialist Group (dissolved)
| |
|- |-
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|- |-
|{{Flag|United States}} |{{Flag|United States}}
|] |] (dissolved)
| |
|- |-
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|} |}


==Defunct==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
⚫ |-
!Country
!Organisation name (English)
!Organisation name (Country of origin)
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|France}}
⚫ |]
⚫ |Que Faire
⚫ |-
⚫ |{{Flag|Italy}}
⚫ |Communism from below
⚫ |Comunismo dal basso
|-
⚫ |{{Flag|Norway}}
⚫ |]
⚫ |Internasjonale Sosialister
|-
⚫ |{{Flag|Pakistan}}
⚫ |]
|
|-
⚫ |{{Flag|Sweden}}
⚫ |]
⚫ |Internationella Socialister
|}
==See also== ==See also==
*] *]
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==External links== ==External links==
*{{Official website|http://internationalsocialists.org/}} *{{Official website|http://internationalsocialists.org/}}
* Documents relating to the debates between the International Socialist Organization and the Socialist Workers Party * Documents relating to the debates between the International Socialist Organization and the Socialist Workers Party
* Criticism of Cliff and the SWP by Jim Higgins, former National Secretary of the International Socialists * Criticism of Cliff and the SWP by Jim Higgins, former National Secretary of the International Socialists
* Articles written by leading thinkers of the IST * Articles written by leading thinkers of the IST
* Official listing of IST affiliates * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726044514/http://internationalsocialists.org/wordpress/groups/ |date=26 July 2020 }} Official listing of IST affiliates


{{SWP}} {{SWP}}
{{Political internationals}}
{{Authority control}} {{Authority control}}


Latest revision as of 20:12, 9 December 2024

International group of Trotskyist organisations
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The International Socialist Tendency (IST) is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations espousing the ideas of Tony Cliff (1917–2000), founder of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in Britain (not to be confused with the unrelated Socialist Workers Party in the United States). IST supporters are sometimes called "Cliffites". It has sections across 27 countries; however, its strongest presence is in Europe, especially in Britain.

The politics of the IST are similar to the politics of many Trotskyist Internationals. Where it differs with many is on the question of the Soviet Union, the IST adopting the position that it was a "state capitalist" economy, rather than a "degenerated workers' state" along with their theories of the "permanent arms economy" and "deflected permanent revolution". The IST sees the often referred to "socialist" countries, such as the former Eastern Bloc states, China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba as an inverse of classical Marxism, arguing they are "Stalinist" in nature.

Unlike many international tendencies, the IST has no formal organisational structures and has only ever made one publicly known decision, which was to expel the US International Socialist Organization (ISO) from its ranks. However, the antecedents of the IST go back to the 1950s when the founders of the British Socialist Review Group (SRG), supporters of Cliff, were expelled from The Club and thus from the Fourth International.

History

1950s

Through the 1950s the SRG had a loose relationship with the US Independent Socialist League (ISL) led by Max Shachtman until it dissolved in 1958. It then retained links with members coming out of that group and with other individuals in the international Trotskyist movement. But there was no significant growth in support for its ideas until the late 1960s. Some of the ideas of the IST, such as the permanent arms economy were originally developed from writings published by the ISL. The theory of the permanent arms economy was developed by T. N. Vance in a series published throughout 1951 in the ISL journal New International and was later refined by Cliff in the late 1950s and over the years by key International Socialist (IS) theoreticians such as Mike Kidron, Nigel Harris and Chris Harman in later years.

1960s–70s

In the 1960s the International Socialists (as the group was now called) established links with militants in a number of countries which led to the formation of IS groups in those countries. Perhaps the first such group was the Irish IS group founded in 1971, followed by groups in Australia, Canada and Germany. Meanwhile, links were built with the Independent Socialists (later International Socialists) in the USA. These links led to a split in the American IS in 1978 and the formation of the ISO; a group which was more closely linked to the British IS.

During the late 1960s the British IS also attended a series of meetings held by the French Lutte Ouvriere (LO) group which were also attended by the American IS. In many quarters the IS and LO groups were seen as constituting a loose semi-syndicalist tendency within world Trotskyism in this period. The meetings were also attended by a wide variety of groups such as the Italian Autonomia Operaia but petered out.

Despite this growth there was no formal organisation. However, international meetings of the leaderships of the IS tendency did develop, usually held in conjunction with the (renamed in 1977) British Socialist Workers Party's Marxism Summer School, held in London. This was the foundation of the IST which at some point in the 1990s came to be referred to thus with capitalisation.

1980s

Through the 1980s the IST grew internationally, in part, as other revolutionary socialist tendencies entered into crisis thus removing competitors. New IS groups appeared in France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and in Greece the Socialist Revolution Organisation (OSE) which had been loosely linked to the IS in the 1970s rejoined the tendency. A group of Turkish comrades were also recruited in exile during this period, its members living in Germany and Britain.

1990s

The 1990s saw more international growth for the IST as groups were founded in yet more countries including Austria, Cyprus, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and South Korea. Groups were also founded in the former Eastern Bloc states as contact could be sustained in those countries for the first time after the collapse of the USSR. This led to the foundation of IS groups in Poland and the Czech Republic. A group linked to the IST existed in Russia but collapsed.

However, the 1990s also saw a number of splits and expulsions for the IST. While there was a great deal of geographical expansion there were also losses and fragmentation. There were a number of splits which were unrelated to each other but seemed to have a common cause. Those causes were a concern among some members of the groups concerned that the internal regime of their own group had become bureaucratised and lacked in democratic accountability. Sometimes this was associated with the involvement in the internal affairs of the group by representatives of the SWP, as well as the political orientation of the group. Among the groups affected by such splits were those based in Germany, South Africa, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada and France. In Belgium, the majority of the group joined the Belgian affiliate of the Committee for a Workers' International.

The Australian split, Socialist Alternative, was formed following the bureaucratic expulsion of 5 Melbourne members from the ISO. They subsequently consolidated their politics as a "propaganda group", arguing against the IST focus on united fronts, that "all 'united fronts' between small socialist groups and mass reformist organisations would achieve is to give a left cover to the reformists".

2000s

The 2000s saw contradictory developments for the IST. New groups were formed in a number of countries for the first time as in Pakistan, Botswana, Lebanon, Uruguay, Finland, Sweden and Ghana. However the largest groups in the IST outside Britain have both split and sections of them have left the IST. Thus in the US the ISO's leadership entered into a dispute with the leadership of the SWP as to the significance of the anti-capitalist and anti-globalisation movements following the World Trade Organization demonstration in Seattle. This led to the ISO being expelled from the IST and a small faction (sympathetic to the SWP) leaving it to form Left Turn (LT). Ironically, LT also left the IST in 2003 leaving the tendency with no affiliate in the US. Very small numbers of people sympathetic to the SWP operate in the US Keep Left and the US Solidarity, but with no official link to the IST. Meanwhile, in Greece the OSE (which had renamed itself the Socialist Workers Party) split on similar lines with a substantial minority forming the Internationalist Workers Left. New Zealand's official group (Socialist Worker) triggered an international debate within the IST, when on 1 May 2007, it presented a May Day statement to the IST, calling on it to "engage with the mass revolutionary process in Venezuela". The group dissolved itself only a few years later.

Today

In 2011 members of the Zimbabwean affiliate – the International Socialist Organisation – face the potential death penalty for hosting a meeting discussing the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

Since 2013, the IST has suffered a serious crisis after the allegations of rape made against 'Comrade Delta' within the British SWP became more widely known. In January 2013, the IST's section in Serbia, Marks21, left the IST over the scandal. In March 2013, I.S. Canada founding member Abbie Bakan, former Socialist Worker editor Paul Kellogg, theorist John Riddell and other leading members released a public statement announcing their resignation from the group after a motion to write a public letter of concern to the British SWP over its handling of the scandal was voted down at their annual convention. However, the SWP in Ireland passed a resolution condemning the British SWP's Central Committee. As of June 2014, around 700 members of the British SWP have resigned from the group. Three separate splinter groups from the British SWP were formed after the beginning of the scandal, the International Socialist Network (ISN), Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century (RS21) and the International Socialists (Scotland), though two of those three groups are now defunct. rs21 was launched as a "fluid and possibly temporary" grouping aiming to organise with the perspective that "the basis for a genuine mass revolutionary party does not exist in the British working class movement, but nonetheless revolutionaries must do what they can to help facilitate this goal".

In 2019 in the United States, a new affiliate group Marx21 was launched aiming to "bring together activists who want to fight for the politics of socialism from below, inside the movements and in the struggles of today", encouraging the use of "political tools such as the United Front" and inspired by the IST.

Affiliate organisations

The listing below is neither fully comprehensive, as there are additional groups not mentioned in official lists found on IST websites, nor completely accurate. IST sources often containing references to Suara Socialis in Indonesia and Malaysia, are in fact websites only. Many IST sources also refer to the Organización Socialista Internacional of Puerto Rico as being in the IST but it is actually close to the ISO. Some other small groups existing in various countries cannot be mentioned for legitimate security reasons. In addition there are IST type groups in a number of countries unconnected to the IST as in Germany, Greece, the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Country Affiliate name (English) Affiliate name (Country of origin)
 Australia Solidarity
 Austria Left Turn Linkswende
 Botswana International Socialist Organization
 Brazil Revolts Revolutas
 Canada International Socialists
 Cyprus Workers' Democracy Ergatiki Demokratia
 Czech Republic Socialist Solidarity Socialistická Solidarita
 Denmark International Socialists Internationale Socialister
 Ghana International Socialist Organisation
 Great Britain Socialist Workers' Party
 Greece Socialist Workers' Party Sosialistiko Ergatiko Komma
 Ireland Socialist Workers Network
 Netherlands International Socialists Internationale Socialisten
 New Zealand Socialist Aotearoa
 Nigeria Socialist Workers League
 Poland Workers' Democracy Pracownicza Demokracja
 South Africa Keep Left
 South Korea Workers' Solidarity Nodongjayeondae
 Spain Marx21 Marx21
 Syria Syrian Revolutionary Left Current
 Thailand Socialist Workers Thailand องค์กรสังคมนิยมแรงงาน
 Turkey Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party Devrimci Sosyalist İşçi Partisi
 United States Marx21
 Zimbabwe International Socialist Organisation

Non-aligned IST organisations which hold to its basic positions

Country Organisation name (English) Organisation name (Country of origin)
 Australia Socialist Alternative
 United Kingdom Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century (RS21)
 United Kingdom Counterfire
 France International Socialism (dissolved) Socialisme International
 Germany Marx21 (Network within The Left) Marx21 (Network within Die Linke)
 Germany Revolutionäre Linke (expelled from Marx21 September 2023)
 Germany Initiative Sozialismus von Unten (split from Marx21 October 2023)
 Greece Internationalist Workers' Left Diethnistiki Ergatiki Aristera
 New Zealand International Socialist Organisation
 Puerto Rico International Socialist Organisation Organización Socialista Internacional
 Scotland International Socialist Group (dissolved in 2015)
 Serbia Marks21
 South Africa International Socialist Movement (South Africa)
 Turkey Anti-capitalist (dissolved in 2010) Antikapitalist
 United States International Socialist Organization (dissolved in 2019)

Former affiliates

These organisations originated in the IST but have significantly changed their political orientation.

Country Organisation name (English) Organisation name (Country of origin)
 Canada New Socialist Group (dissolved)
 Germany Group of International Socialists Gruppe Internationaler SozialistInnen
 United States Left Turn (dissolved)
 Russia Socialist Tendency Социалистическая тенденция

Defunct

Country Organisation name (English) Organisation name (Country of origin)
 France What Is To Be Done Que Faire
 Italy Communism from below Comunismo dal basso
 Norway International Socialists Internasjonale Sosialister
 Pakistan International Socialists
 Sweden International Socialists Internationella Socialister

See also

References

  1. ^ "International Socialist Tendency". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  2. "Tony Cliff". REDS – Die Roten. 11 April 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  3. "State Capitalism in Russia". Marxists Internet Archive. 1947. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  4. Kidron, Michael (1967). "A Permanent Arms Economy". International Socialism. Marxism Page. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  5. Cliff, Tony (1963). "Deflected Permanent Revolution". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  6. "What is the real Marxist tradition?". Marxisme Online. 1983. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  7. ^ "Report on International Socialist Tendency meeting 5 July 2001". SWP Central Committee. 5 July 2001. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  8. "A Brief Sketch of the Militant Tendency's History". Committee for a Workers' International. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  9. "Marching down Marx Street: The International Socialists in Australia, 1972-92". Tom O'Lincoln's Red Sites. 1992. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  10. "Socialist Alternative and the ISO: perspectives for socialists". Socialist Alternative. 2 September 2002. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  11. Rintoul, Ian (2004). "Whither the Propaganda Perspective". Solidarity.
  12. "Socialist Alternative and the ISO – Perspectives for Socialists". saoniso.orgfree.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  13. "Alex Callinicos debates New Zealand SWP over Venezuela". Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  14. "May Day statement by central committee of Socialist Worker-New Zealand". Unity. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  15. "Resolution of 2012 conference of Socialist Worker". Unity. 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  16. "Zimbabwe socialists tortured". Socialist Worker. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  17. Why we are leaving the IST, Marks21, 2013
  18. "Statement of Resignation – IS Canada". IS Network. 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  19. "SWP crisis: Silence of the lambs". Weekly Worker. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  20. "Thunder on the left". International Socialism. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  21. "Welcome to RS21". Socialist Resistance. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  22. Marx21 (June 2019). "Why Marx21? The tasks for the left today" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. Gilbert Achcar and Alex Callinicos (31 March 2022). "Ukraine and anti-imperialism: an exchange". Alliance for Workers' Liberty.
  24. "สังคมนิยมแรงงาน". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 25 December 2023.

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